Schimel rains threes, Oregon State topples No. 1 LMU

Published 2:21 pm Monday, March 9, 2026

Oregon State Beavers guard Ally Schimel (4) dribbles the ball against the NW Nazarene Nighthawks at Gill Coliseum. (CMG Photo: Jaime Valdez)

The Oregon State women’s basketball team is back in the West Coast Conference final for the second-straight season following a 73-67 win over top-seeded Loyola Marymount on Monday.

The semifinal matchup at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas was the season’s third meeting between Beavers and Lions. LMU, the WCC’s regular-season champion and No. 1 seed in the tournament, beat No. 4 Oregon State, the league’s reigning champ, in both regular-season matchups. All three matchups were closely contested, but with the season the line, it was Scott Rueck’s Oregon State team that emerged victorious.

The Beavers’ return to the title game marks championship berths in both seasons as members of the WCC. Last year, Oregon State beat Portland to earn the league’s March Madness berth.

Oregon State faces either No. 2 Gonzaga or No. 3 Santa Clara in the WCC championship game at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, March 10. ESPN 2 will broadcast championship game. Gonzaga and Santa Clara face one another at 2:30 p.m. on Monday to determine the Beavers’ opponent.

Schimel’s career day

Sophomore guard Ally Schimel scored a career-best 21 points in the win, second only to junior guard Jenna Villa’s 22. Schimel, who’s dealt with an injured left hand for the better part of a month, caught fire from range in the first half. The former walk-on knocked down four of her five 3-point attempts in the first half and set a career-best with her fifth on the other side of halftime.

Monday was Schimel’s first double-digit scoring performance since January 31. She shot 77% from the field (7-for-9), 83% from 3-point range (5-for-6) and went 2-for-3 at the charity stripe.

Villa led the way for Oregon State, passing up Schimel with 15 fourth-quarter points. Villa went a perfect 10-for-10 from the free-throw line, including eight in the final quarter. She added five rebounds and three assists, giving Oregon State a lift with Kennedie Shuler (7 pts) and Lizzy Williamson (6 pts) struggling against LMU’s ferocious defensive effort.

Shuler battles through fouls, Beavers win on the glass

Shuler played through foul trouble for the better part of the game after picking up her third foul before the second half. She played a safe second half and didn’t pick up her fourth foul until the final minutes of Monday’s game, finishing with four boards and team-high seven assists.

Williamson grabbed nine boards and freshman Lara Alonso-Basturo added eight, along with four points. Oregon State out-rebounded LMU 42-32 en route to the win.

LMU guard Jess Lawson, the WCC’s newcomer of the year, led the Lions across the board and notched her third double-double in as many games agains the Beavers. Lawson scored 25 points (10-for-21) and grabbed 10 boards.